In today’s economic climate, juggling motherhood and work is the norm rather than the exception. Data published last year by the US Department of Labor showed that 70 percent of women with kids under 18 are working – and three quarters of them are in full-time employment.

Most of us have dreamed of someone inventing a cloning machine so that we can be in two places at the same time. It is probably for the best if that remains in the realms of fantasy, but technology has come up with some less dramatic, but still extremely useful, ways to help working moms face the challenges of being both a caregiver and a breadwinner in today’s society. Here are five of the best.

SuperSaaS puts everything in one place

Having different apps for mail, social media, shopping, banking, scheduling and messaging is great. But it can sometimes create as many problems as it solves. SuperSaaS is an integration-compatible appointment calendar that needs to be at the top of the downloads lists in order to keep everything else under control. This appointment and booking scheduler is an easy way for others to book and appointments and meetings with you throughout the year on a flexible calendar. By communicating with your various other apps and platforms, it acts like your own personal assistant.

Google Family Link helps you watch the kids

Whether you are in the office on the other side of town or simply at your desk while the kids are in another room, it is a fact of life in the online age that you need to keep a handle on what they are doing. Google Family Link provides an interface by which you can review and approve what the kids are downloading and using on their personal devices. It even provides useful metrics on how long they are spending online, and you can use it to automatically power things off when it is lights-out time.

Fayr – the app for the new family dynamic

There are plenty of working moms out there who are not just the main breadwinner and caregiver, they are the only one. Families come in different shapes and sizes, and for those who are divorced and separated, co-parenting brings its own challenges. The Fayr app is ideal for coordinating shared financing and childcare responsibilities such as contributions for school trips, pick up times and so on. It is currently available on iOS, and will soon be released on Android.

Bambino, for childcare emergencies

Neither parenthood nor career life are always predictable, and there will always be times when they clash. Bambino is an app that can be an absolute life-saver when you need safe and reliable childcare at short notice. It lets you search for registered babysitters by location, and the social aspect provides honest feedback and recommendations from other parents.

Chorsa helps to share the load

Of course, an app can only do so much, and sometimes the biggest help in getting through the day can be those little extra pairs of hands. Chorsa is great for sharing out the work, whether it’s putting out the trash, making the beds or walking the dog. It even allows family members to compete for points in a league table. Who needs a cloning machine when you’ve got a mini-me or two to help get everything done?

Sitting in traffic is the worst. Even with something cool playing on the radio, nothing can be more frustrating that having to wait it out in the middle of hundreds of other cars while you fall further and further behind on your tasks.

So if you’re stuck in traffic, you might as well try to make the most of it, right? You can take the opportunity to get a few things started or finished while you waiting to inch along. Fortunately, there are some Android apps that can help you turn your downtime on the road to a productive time. Here are a few apps that you can use — responsibly, of course — to get work done the next time you find yourself at a standstill on the road.

Make Some Calls

Chances are that there are a few calls you need to make, whether for work or for personal reasons. Why not take this time to make them? And the best part is that you can even make important calls because the Call Recorder for Me app will let you record any conversation you want.

You can choose to have this app record calls from any or all numbers on your contact list, or you can have it record calls as you want. This makes it easy to remember important times, dates and other information that you may normally take notes about. With this app, you can just have the conversation and then go back and listen to it.

You can bookmark important parts of the recording for easy recall and you can search through your recordings easily.

Get Organized

Keeping up with all of your to-do lists can be a challenge for anyone, so why not use your downtime to get organized.

If you’re like most people, you have hundreds of different things you need to keep track of, and this app will help you keep track of it all. It lets you build a hierarchy of tasks, from easiest to hardest or vice versa so you can customize the view however you want. You can zoom in and out to focus on certain small tasks that will help you finish a larger one, like getting everything you need for a birthday party or all of the small tasks you need to finish to complete a project at work.

Learn a New Language

You practice speaking and learning the language by using games which help you learn faster. You can choose from German, Spanish, French, Italian and more, all while sitting in traffic. Imagine the look on everyone’s faces when you finally arrive to work and tell them, “Sorry I’m late,” in another language!

Use your time stuck in traffic to get things done. Try one of these apps next time you’re at a standstill.

David Peage uses his smartphone to stay productive when he’s on the daily commute. He’s been commuting to work for close to 20 years now and is so thankful for this digital age!

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